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Internships are believed to help students redirect individual career goals, develop a clearer self-concept, gain specific knowledge of their future occupations and build work-relevant skills. Most of the skills acquired during internship are general. These attributes may then transform into various positive outcomes for the transition into the labour market and early career success. An example can be shorter job search duration, better job match, increased earnings, more stable job positions and lower probability of unemployment. Students with professional experience have a competitive advantage in changing job market as they have had an opportunity early on to broaden their post-graduation opportunities, demonstrate greater career focus and develop integral soft and hard skills.
Conducting focus groups and feedback surveys with group of students are a great way to see organization as the students see it. Focus groups can produce information about what the organizations are doing that students find attractive.
After the internship, students should complete the summary of information of internship experience. The summary can be in the form of questionnaire. The statistics internship coordinator then collects the data based on the answers of questionnaire. This summary should include the following sections:
Name of internship organization, name and title of supervisor
Inclusive dates of internship experience
Summary of work responsibilities during internship experience
Summary of skills and knowledge gained from internship experience
One page self-evaluation which highlights student’s own strengths and areas where he/she still needs professional development
Suggestions to improve the organization's programs and services
Most valuable aspects of student’s internship experience
Suggestions for improving the internship program
It is important to gather information about students but also about firms that took a part at internship program and to keep a record of all feedback obtained. So it is necessary to listen to interns, their mentors and firms. Ask them if they would have done anything in a different way or if they would change anything about their internship with the company.
All of the data gathered from questionnaires should be collected into one database which should help on one side to improve the internship programmes to focus on improving of concrete skills and on the other side to perform analysis of effects of internships on various areas of economy like labour market. These information should help policy makers to adjust the set of their actions to support internships.
Part time job and internship survey
Document contains information about methodology of collecting statistical data about internships according to industries, duration of internships and part time summer jobs, etc.
15 BEST PRACTICES FOR INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS
National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) describes
Four Ways to Improve Your Corporate Internship Program
Four main items that should be implemented in internship programs